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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is exploring whether it has any authority over Americans' retirement savings and investments, says Richard Cordray, the agency's director. The CFPB is concerned that consumers might become victims of financial scams, sources say.

Related Summaries

Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, says rollout of integrated disclosure for the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement Practices Act has not been smooth, and he blames bank vendors. Cordray maintains that integrated disclosure won't increase costs for consumers.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is calling for higher standards and more transparency in the way financial advisers market themselves to seniors, noting that some are taking advantage of seniors and luring them into risky investments and scams. The Securities and Exchange Commission and state regulators should establish standards for "senior" designations and create an easy way to verify advisers' credentials, the CFPB says.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is giving four banks 15 days to explain auto loans and auto dealer interest-rate markups that appear discriminatory and violate the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, sources say. The CFPB reportedly sent letters last week to the banks, warning of potential lawsuits. The agency has oversight of banks but not auto dealers. "Auto lending is within our jurisdiction," said Richard Cordray, CFPB director. "We are examining institutions around auto lending just as we are looking at them on mortgage, credit cards, student loans."

In its first several months of work, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has targeted mortgage rules, taken complaints from consumers, studied student-loan trends and more. So far the agency and its director, Richard Cordray, have established credibility, even as a court ruling threatens its future, writes Martha C. White. CBA President and CEO Richard Hunt has said that Cordray "would be a worthwhile, credible candidate" to lead the agency under a commission structure.

Mortgage lenders must give borrowers copies of appraisal reports free under a new rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Lenders can still charge a reasonable fee for the appraisal itself. The rule, effective next January, came independently from the CFPB after new mortgage rules were issued last week by six other regulatory agencies.